Shawn McNulty
Acrylic and Pumice on Cradled Board
24×24″
2025

Bombus is an original blue and yellow abstract painting on canvas by visual artist Shawn McNulty. This painting is is 1.5″ deep on cradled board with pine edges and ready to hang with wire on the back. The title was inspired by the colors and forms being similar to a bumblebee.

Varieties of Bombus Bumblebees: A Field-Friendly Word Guide

Why Bumblebee “Varieties” Matter

About 250 bumblebee species (genus Bombus) buzz across much of the Northern Hemisphere and even reach the southern tip of South America. Each species—what many nature lovers loosely call a “variety”—pairs a characteristic color pattern with particular tongue length, nesting habit, and seasonal rhythm that help it exploit certain flowers and climates. Learning the key patterns lets you recognize pollinator diversity in your backyard and contribute meaningful data to conservation projects.

Reading a Bumblebee: Quick ID Primer

Most field guides start with tail color (white/buff, red/orange, ginger, patterned), then check the yellow/black band layout across the thorax and the first abdominal segments (T1, T2). Face length hints at tongue length—long-faced bees often key to deep tubular blooms; short-tongued ones work open flowers or may nectar-rob long blossoms. Habitat clues (underground vs surface nests) and flight season further narrow the options; regional “tail-color groups” charts are an easy on-ramp for beginners.

Ten Representative Bombus Species (Global Sampler)

1. Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)

Large Eurasian bee (queens hefty) with two golden-yellow bands and a buff to white tail; workers often appear clean white-tailed. Mostly underground nester; big colonies (to ~350 workers). Intensively reared for greenhouse pollination; exported populations have established and spread, raising invasive and pathogen-spillover concerns in regions such as Chile and Patagonia.

2. Common Eastern Bumble Bee (Bombus impatiens)

The go-to bumblebee of eastern North America: lemon-yellow thoracic band with a central black spot, yellow T1 then black abdomen. Medium tongue; usually nests underground. Mass-reared for commercial pollination (tomatoes, berries) and shipped widely—use care not to release non-local stocks. Listed Least Concern but ecologically influential because of its abundance and agricultural use.

3. Yellow-faced Bumble Bee (Bombus vosnesenskii)

West-coast workhorse from British Columbia to Baja California; common in cities, farms, and wildlands. Yellow hair on face and anterior thorax; strong yellow band near tail in females. Colonies ~200–300 workers in underground sites. Evaluated as an alternative commercial pollinator alongside B. impatiens and B. huntii, especially for greenhouse tomatoes.

4. Rusty-patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis)

Formerly widespread across the eastern U.S. and upper Midwest into Ontario; now reduced to isolated pockets after an ~87–90% decline since the late 1990s. Workers show a rusty-orange patch at the front of abdominal segment T2; queens more subtly marked. First U.S. bumblebee listed Endangered (2017). Multiple interacting threats implicated: pathogens, pesticides, habitat loss, climate stress, and small population effects.

5. American Bumble Bee (Bombus pensylvanicus)

Tall-grass prairie and open farmland species once abundant across the southern and central United States; now greatly diminished (declines approaching 90% reported). Long-faced; yellow thoracic hair with black banding; may be confused with B. auricomus. Frequently nests at or above ground in grasses near fields. Considered Vulnerable; monitoring and habitat restoration recommended.

6. Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

One of the UK’s “Big Eight” common species: velvety black body capped by a vivid red tail in queens and workers; males add yellow thoracic bands. Occupies gardens, parks, and countryside; often nests underground and can reach 300 workers. Distinguish from smaller, fluffier B. ruderarius or the darker-winged cuckoo B. rupestris.

7. Common Carder Bumblebee (Bombus pascuorum)

Shaggy ginger-brown bee with no contrasting tail tip—the abdomen and “tail” blend in color; scattered black hairs vary by individual. Surface-nester in long grass or moss; colonies to ~150 workers. Long-tongued forager that frequents clovers, vetches, and similar flowers; widespread and familiar across Europe.

8. Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum)

Slim, long-faced specialist of deep flowers (foxglove, clovers, vetches). Pattern: yellow bands front/back of thorax plus one on abdomen, finishing in a clean white tail. Nests mainly in old rodent burrows; colonies up to ~150 workers and a long season in gardens and farmland across Europe.

9. Patagonian “Flying Mouse” (Bombus dahlbomii)

Giant, plush orange-ginger bee native to temperate forests of southern Chile and Argentina; queens can exceed 3 cm. Rapid declines followed introductions of European commercial bumblebees (B. terrestris, B. ruderatus) and associated pathogens; now Endangered and emblematic of pollinator biosecurity issues.

10. Arctic Bumblebee (Bombus polaris)

Hardy circumpolar species surviving well above the Arctic Circle and in high alpine zones. Dense insulating pile and powerful thermoregulation (thoracic temps can exceed ambient by >20°C) enable foraging in near-freezing conditions; nests are heavily insulated. Often paired ecologically with its social parasite B. hyperboreus.

Beyond the Big Ten: Look-Alikes, Sister Species & Cuckoos

Color overlap and regional variants keep even experts humble. Bombus occidentalis (Western Bumble Bee) shows multiple color forms and has suffered regional declines; it can be confused with B. vosnesenskii and several other yellow-banded western species. Cuckoo bumblebees such as Bombus vestalis and Bombus sylvestris invade established host nests instead of building their own, lack pollen baskets, and often wear sharper black-and-yellow contrasts—worth learning so you don’t mis-record them in surveys. Tail-color grouping charts from regional guides are handy cross-checks when you’re unsure.

Helping Bumblebees Where You Live

All bumblebees benefit from three basics: season-long flowers (spring to frost), undisturbed nesting/overwintering spots (untilled ground, brush piles, bunchgrasses, old rodent burrows), and reduced pesticide load. Recovery planning for the Rusty-patched Bumble Bee stresses pairing high-quality floral resources with protected nesting habitat; conservation teams even deploy trained detection dogs and community-science volunteers to locate scarce nests. Creating pollinator-friendly plantings in gardens, parks, and roadsides helps local common species and the rare ones that share the same resources.